Kreidezeit oil-based lazure protects the shingle covering the Castle of Lut Fairy Valley

The Fa Fairy Valley Clay Castle in Porumbacu de Sus, in Sibiu County, is already a well-known and popular place, visited by many people from all over the country and abroad. Its special fairytale-like appearance attracts both young and old alike. Everything here, down down to the smallest detail, is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen with a love of craftsmanship and beauty. I've already told you about the playground Nicu Ivănescu made some time ago out of hollow trees here. Now, the Castle of Lut has gone under renovation, but without being closed to the public. The shingle has flaked, the walls are no longer as white as they were, and the pandemic is providing the conditions for the original project - a boutique hotel - to be finalized. All the materials used in the renovation are natural, and the shingle is made of Kreidezeit oil colored with natural pigments supplied by Naturalpaint. We spoke to Răzvan Vasile, one of the people behind the project, about these works and future plans. Read more at the end of the article.

Fa Fairy Valley Clay Castle

Lut Castle in Fa Fairy Valley is the dream of Gabriella and Razvan, born and raised in Bucharest, but hopelessly in love with nature. A few years ago they decided to leave the capital and move with their son to Porumbacu, near Sibiu. They set out with the idea of building a "natural fairy-tale house", a project that has since become Lut Castle in Fa Fairy Valley.

From the very beginning they wanted everything to be built traditionally and by hand by skilled craftsmen using only natural materials. The shapes were designed to be organic, fluid, in harmony with nature. The walls, 60 cm thick, were made of cob, a mixture of clay, straw, sand and water. They were covered with a special lime plaster, which is more resistant and open to the vapors from the outside. "The castle was covered with shingleand the towers were built of stone.

The "Castle" was designed to be a very special hotel. It has 2 floors, 10 rooms, 2 towers and 50 windows. Because it aroused interest right from the start, the castle was opened to visitors. Initially it could also be visited inside, the owners had set up a room to see details of the construction of the walls. A pandemic forced them to stop visiting the interior, leaving it only possible to visit and photograph the exterior.

Gabriela and Răzvan wish that next year the hotel can be inaugurated. But there is still work to be done and things are not going as fast as they would like, because everything is done by hand and skilled and hard-working people are not easy to find.

Natural products from Naturalpaint fit the concept perfectly

The shingle covering the 'castle' was initially covered with natural water-based varnish. Apparently this was not the best solution as the varnish soon cracked and began to peel. They left it that way for a while, and rain and wind helped clean the shingle. To ensure that all the mildew was removed, the shingle was washed with a special natural solution that also provided protection against moss, lichens and fungi.

As the shingle needed to be protected, they thought about what would be the most suitable in combination with the natural materials used to build the castle. And so they came up with Kreidezeit natural oils, much more suitable due to their high elasticity. To achieve the right color, larch lye, transparent lye and natural orange pigment were used.

Kreidezeit lakes contain linseed oil and tung oil, a very good combination for wood protection. Linseed oil has a thinner molecule which allows it to go deep into the wood, protecting it from the inside. The molecule of tung oil is larger, which helps it to protect the surface of the wood where it forms a very thin but tough and super-elastic film. Kreidezeit has found the perfect balance between the two oils so that their mixture protects the wood both inside and on the surface.

Kreidezeit pigments are mixtures of dyes from nature. They contain no added chemicals or other auxiliaries. They do not contain heavy metals and only natural materials that do not pose a health hazard are chosen. The pigments are in powder form and mix easily with oil. The range includes 26 pigments in the most distinctive colors. The pigment used is obtained from iron-bearing rocks and minerals originating in France. The coloring substance is iron hydroxide.

Watch the interview with Răzvan Vasile in the fairytale setting of Castle of Lut.